Classroom Management &
Instructional Strategies
Technical Assistance Center on Disproportionality
Metropolitan Center for Urban Education
@ New York University
1
By the end of this workshop, participants
will be able to:
• Understand the key factors that create a sense of
urgency for building improved student
relationships.
• Self-reflect on the ways in which they connect and
interact with all students and understand how this
impacts disproportionality.
• Identify proactive classroom management
strategies that promote caring, positive school
environments.
WHY NOW?
Building improved relationships for all students, especially
struggling and gifted learners, is at the top of the American
educational agenda. Many factors are attributable
to this sense of urgency.
Legislation, i.e., NCLB, IDEA, RTI
Disproportionality
Achievement Gap
Gender Gap
Demands of the 21st Century
3
Response to Intervention (RTI)
• New York is rolling out RTI in September in
pilot schools
• IDEA mandates RTI in 2012
• Tiers 1 and 2 are not special education
interventions, but fall squarely in the domain
of general education. Tier 1 is universal
design and Tier 2 is more individualized.
Response to Intervention Model
Tier IV:
Special Education
Tier III:
Referral to a Child Study
Team or Instructional
Support Team
Tier II:
Intensive assistance as part of a general
education support system
Tier I:
Culturally responsive instruction in general education
classrooms
Disproportionality Begins Early and Persists
(Rausch & Skiba, 2004)
Likelihood Ratio Compared to White
Students
7
6.19
6
5
3.97
African
American
3.65
4
3
1.76
2.33
2.12
2
1
0
Elementary
Middle
Rausch & Skiba, 2004
High
Hispanic
Students with Disabilities
5
4.13
4
3
1.88
2
Likelihood to be placed in
correctional institution
compared to White
Students with disabilities
1
0
Black
US DOE, 2005
Hispanic
7
The Achievement Gap
Every year, thousands of children head toward
school already behind. Many never catch up.
8
2007 NAEP Grade 4 Reading
All Students, New York
Percent of Students
100%
80%
31
60%
34
40%
20%
34
0%
All Students
Proficient/Advanced
Basic
Below Basic
2007 NAEP Grade 4 Reading
by Race/Ethnicity, New York
100%
Percent of Students
17
18
80%
47
35
33
60%
Proficient/Advanced
Basic
Below Basic
40%
20%
34
48
49
19
0%
African
American
Latino
White
2007 NAEP Grade 8 Reading
by Race/Ethnicity, New York
100%
Percent of Students
14
16
80%
60%
43
42
40
Proficient/Advanced
Basic
Below Basic
40%
20%
44
44
44
13
0%
African
American
Latino
White
NY: 9th Graders Graduating 4 Years Later (2004)
Graduated NY: 9th
Graders Graduating 4
Years Later (2005)
Asian
68.8%
Black
45.4%
Latino
42%
White
81%
Special Education by Gender
Qu ic kTime ™ a nd a
dec omp re sso r
are n eed ed to se e th is pi cture.
3 Strategies for Improving
Student Relationships
14
Strategy #1
Know How Your Students Perceive You
“Both African American and white teachers must be willing to
interrogate the ways in which middle-class norms shape their
“presentation of self” in the classroom since such values
impact the teaching-learning process.”
Kathy-Anne Jordan, Discourses of Difference, The Journal of
African American History; Winter 2005
Activity: Dr. Phil’s Test
15
Strategy #2
Administer Interest Surveys to
Students & Parents
In addition to administering student interest survey (samples in
your folder), parents should be surveyed about their children’s
interests because parents often reveal talents and interests that
students inadvertently omit. The parent survey also facilitates
relationship building with teachers.
Activity: Complete a parent survey for your child or a child you know.
16
Strategy #3
Make Your Classroom Culturally Responsive
“When teachers and students come from different cultural
backgrounds, planned efforts to cross social borders and
develop caring, respectful relationships are essential.”
Weinstein, Curran, Clarke (2003), Culturally Responsive Classroom
Management:
Awareness Into Action, Ohio State University
–
–
–
–
Conduct cultural self-assessments.
Become a guardian of equity and access.
Value the diversity of your students.
Adjust practices and attitudes to meet the changing demographics of
your classroom.
Activities:
17
Complete a multicultural checklist - With a partner, match Chinese & American idioms
In-School Causes of Discipline Problems
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Competitive Environment
Student Boredom
Powerlessness
Unclear Limits
Requiring Students to Earn Educational
Opportunities
6. Lack of Acceptable Outlets to Express Feelings
7. Attacks on Dignity
Curwin, Mendler & Mendler (2008)
The 7 Stages of Prevention
(Curwin, Mendler & Mendler, 2008)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Know and express yourself clearly
Know your students
Make your classroom a motivating place
Teach responsibility and caring
Establish effective rules and consequences
Keep yourself current
Deal with stressful conflict
Stage 1:
Know & Express Yourself Clearly
• What is your teaching/management style?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses as an
instructor?
• What verbal and body language do you use often to
communicate, and how might these impact student
behaviors and/or learning outcomes?
Resources:
•Self –Quiz
•Discipline With Dignity Surveys
•Our Words Matter
Stage 2:
Know Your Students
•
•
•
•
•
•
Learning styles & needs
Interests
Academic/behavioral strengths & weaknesses
Literacy & math level
Communication style
Cultural background/language
The Cultural Continuum
Surface
• Food and
Festivals
Transitional
• A few
multicultural
units of
study are in
the
curriculum
Integrated
• Multicultural
units are
integrated
into the
curriculum
Social Change
• Multicultural
units are
used as part
of social
justice
curriculum
The Iceberg
A Deeper Understanding of Culture
Above Waterline
Surface Culture
These are aspects of
culture that are explicit,
visible, and taught
food, dress, music,
visual arts, drama,
crafts, dance, literature,
language, games
At and Just Bellow the Waterline
Unspoken Rules
This is the transition zone is
where the cultural observer
has to be more alert: the
area where implicit
understandings become
talked about, and explained
courtesy, contextual
conversational patterns,
concepts of time, personal
space, rules of conduct,
facial expressions,
nonverbal communication,
body language, touching,
eye contact, pattern of
emotions, notions of
modesty, concepts of
beauty, courtship practices,
notions of leadership
Below the Waterline
Unconscious Rules
"Hidden" culture: the
habits, assumptions,
understandings, values,
judgments ... that we know
but do not or cannot
articulate
nature of friendships, tone
of voice, attitude toward
elders, concept of
cleanliness, notions of
adolescence, patterns of
group decision-making,
preference for competition
or cooperation, tolerance of
pain, conception of self,
conception of past and
future, definition of
obscenity, attitude towards
dependents, problemsolving roles
DVD:
Common Sense of
Differentiation:
Meeting Specific Learning Needs in the
Regular Classroom
Stage 3:
Make Your Classroom A Motivating Place
• Discipline will NEVER replace motivating activities or
effective teaching methods
• Provide choices
• Make it real: Create learning activities that are based
on topics that are relevant to your student’s lives.
• HAVE A 5-10 minute “DO NOW” posted when
students enter the room.
Do Now (5-10 mins)
Purpose of routine: to immediately engage all students,
activate prior knowledge, whet appetites, and bait the
hook in preparation for the lesson.
Example:
Work in pairs to put three + signs and one – sign between
the following digits so the answer is 100. Do not
change the order of the digits.
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
High School Survey of Student Engagement
Stage 4:
Teach Responsibility & Caring
• Have students involved in as many decisions as
possible (homework, test questions, topics of study,
room set-up, etc.)
• Assign jobs
• Get them to do for others
• Foster self-regulation: Responsibility can also be
enhanced in behavior modification programs by
involving students in monitoring and reinforcing their
own behaviors
Putting Self-Regulation Together
Cognitive
Regulation
(Metacognition)
Goal Setting
Planning
Self-Motivation
Attention Control
Learning and Resource Management
Strategies Applied
Resource
Management
Motivation
Regulation
Self-Monitoring, Evaluation, and
Reflection
Self-Reinforcement
Ethical Caring
(Noddings, 2002)
• Requires reflection & self-understanding-We need to
understand our own capacities, how we are likely to
react in various situations, and our selfish tendencies
as well as our generous ones.
• 4 Components of Care:
–
–
–
–
Modeling
Dialogue
Practice
Confirmation
FAST: An Interpersonal Problem
Solving Strategy
Freeze & Think
Alternatives
Solution Evaluation
Try it!
Stage 5: Establish Effective Rules &
Consequences (social contracts)
• Establish social contracts- A list of values, rules and
consequences that define proper behavior deemed
necessary for good learning and teaching to occur.
• This generally works best when teachers identify the
school/class values and involve students in defining the
rules.
• Variations of social contracts include having students
propose rules for the teacher as well as for each other.
Creating Classroom Rules
• Keep it positive
• Avoid vague or nebulous terms
• Involve students (even if leading)
Stage 6: Keep Yourself Current
• Continue learning about child behavior, theories of
discipline, and some of the research into psychology
and education as it applies to discipline
• “Knowledge alone will not make you a better
classroom manager, but knowledge can generate
alternatives.”
(Curwin, Mendler & Mendler, 2008, p. 59)
Staying Current
• Think of your school as a…
– Research facility
– Professional think-tank
– Critical friends group
– Teacher support program
Stage 7:
Deal With Stressful Conflict
• Many discipline problems occur because stressed
out-teachers are trying to get stressed out kids to do
what they want.
• Strategies for reducing stress:
– Anticipate the predictable
– Do not take inappropriate behavior personally
– Develop mental toughness
References & Resources
Brown, D. F.. (May 2004). Urban Teachers’ Professed Classroom Management Strategies:
Reflections of Culturally Responsive Teaching. Annual Editions: Multicultural
Education, 06/07, Article 28, p. 146.
Corwin, R.L., Mendler, A.N., Mendler, B.D. (2008). Discipline With Dignity. (Third Edition).
Alexandria, Virginia: ASCD.
Grossman, H. (1994). Classroom Behavior Management In A Diverse Society. Second
Edition. Mountain View, California: Mayfield Publishing Company.
Hayes, B. (2000). An Experiment Using Teacher Centered Instruction VS StudentCentered Instruction as a Means of Teaching American Government to High School
Seniors. Retrieved April 21, 2008 from www.secondaryenglish.com/approaches.html.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American
children. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass.
Lester, N.B. & Onore, C.S. (1990). Learning Change: One school district meets language
across the curriculum. Portsmith, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishers.
Levin, J. & J. Nolan, J.. (2000). Principles of Classroom Management. (Third Edition).
Needham Heights, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.
References & Resources
Martin, J. & Sugarman, J. (1993). Models of Classroom Management. (Second
Edition). Bellingham, Washington: Temeron Books Inc.
Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D. J., Pollock, J. E. (2001). Classroom Instruction that Works:
Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. Alexandria,
Virginia: ASCD
Noddings, N. (2002) Educating Moral People: A Caring Alternative to Character
Education. New York, New York: Teachers Collge Press
Rodriguez, E. R. & Bellanca, J. (2007). What Is It About Me You Can’t Teach? (Second
Edition). Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.
Rules of Conduct for Teachers 1915. Retreived April 20, 2008 from
http://www.pchswi.org/archives/schools/teacher_conduct_1915.html.
Slavin, R. E. (1994). A Practical Guide to Cooperative Learning. Needham Heights,
Massachusetts: Allyn and bacon.
Vitto, D. (2003). Relationship-Driven Classroom Management. Thousand Oaks,
California: Corwin Press, Inc.
Weinstein, C.S., Tomlinson-Clarke, S., & Curran, M. (2004). Toward a Conception of
Culturally Responsive Classroom Management. Journal of Teacher Education,
Volume 55, pages 33-34.
Technical Assistance Center on Disproportionality
Metropolitan Center for Urban Education
New York University
Steinhardt School of Education
212.998.5100
http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/metrocenter/